Hi guys so I have tough decisions to make and I’ve been immensely blessed!
When thinking about my options I’d love a school with the aura of having brilliant kids from all corners of the world! I’m interested if someone could tell me how each of these schools fare.
To be honest, my question is NOT about finding how many internationals are admitted via something like the common data set. I guess I’m more interested in which school fosters the spirit of being part of a larger world. A large part of this is who they admit, but I’m also interested which school is great at drawing foreign speakers or who is really devoted to drawing people from all over with different ideas. Yes I know all schools try to do this, but what are some nuances between the schools? For example, is Princeton more secluded? Is Harvard more politically concerned?
Yale has brilliant kids from all over the world. My D’s suite has a student from Greece and one from Australia. However, if you think that you are going to sit around all day debating world politics, etc. you are mistaken. Their conversations more center around the singer from One Direction that just left!!! Remember, they are 17 and 18 year olds, just like you are.
Now one thing my D has learned from the international students is how other countries view America - and I don’t mean from a negative point of view. For instance, it is very funny how world history is taught and other countries views on WWII, Vietnam and our own Civil War for instance. Most countries think America has a very America-centric view on things and how we think we saved the world in many instances. It is interesting to see their perspectives and my D has gotten into some great conversations about stuff like this. It has truly shown her a window into how others think of us that she would never have gotten otherwise.
Having one kid at Harvard and one at Yale, I’ve got to say that Yale fosters a spirit of being part of a larger world more than Harvard.
For example, Yale has a world-wide day of service (http://yaledayofservice.org). Harvard does not do anything similar. Yale has master’s teas (http://yaledailynews.com/magazine/2012/04/04/celebrity-masters-teas/). Harvard does nothing similar, although they do invite guest speakers from time to time, but those are usually held in Memorial Hall, which seats about 1,000 students.
